Ashlyn’s POV

As the bell rang for first period, Kayden walked ahead of me. I followed him through the crowded hallway, trying not to notice how heads turned as we passed. He didn’t seem to mind the attention. If anything, he moved with the ease of someone used to being stared at.

Me? I hated it.

I hated the feeling of a hundred eyes on my back. I straightened my spine, lifted my chin and tried to act unaffected, but inside it was killing me.

Kayden opened the door to the classroom and gestured for me to go in first. I took my seat, and he slid into the chair beside me like it was already his. That, of course, brought even more stares.

Why sit next to me?

I glanced around quickly, scanning for Noah. It was stupid, I told myself I didn’t care, but my eyes betrayed me. I stylishly searched the back rows, the corners, and every face I didn’t yet know. He wasn’t there. Natalie was, though, sitting two rows over with her legs crossed.

The teacher walked in and set his books down on his desk. He scanned every face before landing squarely on me.

“You must be Ashlyn, the new student?”

I nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“Please, do stand up and introduce yourself to the class.”

Great. My least favorite thing in the world. I stood reluctantly and faced rows of strangers. Kayden’s eyes caught mine, and suddenly my brain scrambled. His stare was too direct. How was I supposed to sound confident when the hot football captain was watching me like that?

I finally got my name out, "My name is Ashlyn Haymitch, I'm 18, and I’ll be turning 19 this fa—”

The sound of the door opening cut me short. And my attention and everyone else’s was diverted because of Noah.

The moment he entered, our eyes caught, and a soft gasp escaped my lips. My words faltered on my tongue. He had a way of making everything else disappear. Nothing and no one else mattered when Noah Calloway walked into a room.

The teacher’s annoyed voice broke me from my reverie. “Noah, I wanna understand you. Do you make it a ritual to always come late on the first day of school?”

The class chuckled under their breath. But Noah didn’t care. “Can I have my seat now?” he asked impassively.

The teacher shook his head, muttering something about disappointment, before waving him through. I sat down quickly.

“Okay. Good morning class,” the teacher announced.

“Good morning Mr. Dumont,” they all chorused.

Class started and I couldn’t focus. Noah had taken the seat behind me. It was as if I could feel his hot breath against the back of my neck even though he never moved.

Kayden, meanwhile, was quiet and focused. When I glanced sideways, he caught me looking. He mouthed, “Any problem, Ashlyn?”

I shook my head quickly, blushing and forcing my eyes back to the board. He looked tough, but he'd been so kind to me, to a complete stranger. And it made me wonder why.

Shortly, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Everyone bolted out of the room. Noah was gone in a flash, but Kayden stayed behind.

“Hey, if you want I’ll guide you around,” he said simply. “Help you settle in.”

I didn’t know what to say. I smiled without teeth and humbly accepted his request. I’d found something rare in Kayden Shaw already: a friend. An unlikely one, maybe, but a friend all the same.

The way people stared at us as we walked together told me not everyone was happy about it. I could feel their anger. Who was this new girl who had the football captain wrapped around her finger after less than 24 hours?

My suspicions were confirmed shamefully during break in the cafeteria.

Kayden and I had just sat down with our trays when a group of girls passed by. Some girl, leading the pack, pretended to stumble.

She "tripped" and "accidentally" poured her orange juice all over my head. My hair, my clothes, everything was sticky and drenched.

“Oops,” she said sweetly. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. It was an accident, I swear.”

The whole cafeteria had seen it. Everyone laughed and mocked me.

“I’m really sorry, Claire. It’s Claire, right?” Her small voice did nothing but infuriate me.

“It's Ashlyn, Odette," he said with a hardened voice. "Now get the hell away from her."

His reaction wasn't enough for me. My fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to scream, to throw my own juice back at her, to claw that smug smile off her face.

Instead, I swallowed it down, biting back every curse, every ounce of anger, because I knew how this looked. New girl. Easy target.

“Excuse me, please,” I muttered, rising from the table.

Kayden stood immediately. “Do you need any help?”

I forced a brittle smile, hiding the tears in my eyes. “No. It’s fine. I can find my way myself, thank you.”

I left before I could break. The message was clear. Odette and the whole school hated the way Kayden treated me.

“Fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath as the orange juice dripped from my hair and into my eyes.

I didn’t even know where the restroom was, I was new here. But I didn’t want any more problems with Odette.

I wandered the halls blindly until I stumbled into a door and pushed it open. “Hello? Can anyone point me to the restroom?”

The smell hit me first; sweat, cologne and damp clothes. I had wandered into the boys' locker room, and luckily, it was empty, except for one person.

"What are you doing in here, Ashlyn?"

That voice… that throaty voice belonged to Noah. I blinked through the sting of juice in my eyes, wiping them to look at him.

He was shirtless.

My lungs forgot how to work. His body was a work of art. Clothes seemed like an unnecessary barrier, a useless thing that kept me from experiencing the full beauty of the masterpiece.

I couldn't form a single word. I just stood there, mute, drowning in the sight of him.

He assessed me with his gaze. "Who did that to you?"

“Not like you care.” I muttered.

He studied me for a long moment, then said softly, “You should leave. It’s almost time for practice. You don’t want to be here when the locker room fills with boys.”

“Right,” I murmured and turned towards the door. Then I glanced back. “Can you… direct me to the restroom?”

Once he gave me the directions, I followed them. When I got there, I looked in the mirror. My reflection was a sticky, dripping mess.

That girl, Odette, had ruined my first day. I refused to let her win. I scrubbed the juice out of my hair with water streaming down my face.

“You’re not going to let her get to you,” I whispered to myself.

I fixed my hair as best I could, adjusted my damp clothes, and stepped back into the hallway.

Kayden found me almost immediately. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you.”

Eyes followed us. The stares were back, even more intense than before. I was tired of it. I had had enough.

So, I snapped, louder than I meant to: “Why does everyone keep looking at us? I get it—you’re the football captain, the main deal, but this feels like more than that. What else are you, Kayden Shaw? And why did you suddenly pick interest in the new girl? I’m not special. I’m not popular like Odette. You don’t even know me!”

My hair dripped water down my shoulders. My eyes burned with unshed tears.

Kayden exhaled slowly. And then, in front of everyone, he said, “They’re staring because I’m the Alpha’s son.”

The Alpha’s son? I swallowed hard as more people came to listen.

He stepped closer. “Earlier, when you bumped into me… it wasn’t an accident. The moment you walked into this school, I was drawn to you.”

“Drawn to me?” I repeated, shaking my head. “I don’t understand.”

He looked at me with an intensity that took my breath away. “We howl at the moon not because it answers, but because it is what we crave. Let that be your guide. Find your own moon—”

“And in the silence of the night,” I whispered, finishing it for him, “howl for it with everything you have.”

Kayden smiled. “Everything I’ve done up until now was me howling for my moon with everything I had.”

He didn’t lower his voice, nor did he keep his tone in check. He didn’t care if everyone heard him.

“You’re my moon, Ashlyn. You’re my MATE.”

I froze. I couldn’t believe my ears.

A mate. I knew what that meant for werewolves. It was when fate assigned you your forever. I swallowed as his words sank in.

I should give him a response or a reaction. I should accept or reject him. But my head was blank because the only thing there was a terrifying and ridiculous question:

Can my stepbrother be my mate too?